Rejected by My Alpha Now He Replaced Me with a Copycat Luna novel Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Nox’s POV

Raven was quiet for a moment. Then I watched as her slender fingers reached out to pluck a grape from the snack tray I’d made for her. The pleasure I got from her eating something I had brought her was ridiculous- being able to take care of her in some small way.

My gaze grew braver, inching up her body. Making eye contact wasn’t something I’d ever been especially comfortable with, but I wanted to see Raven, at least as much of her as I could. My eyes tracked higher, watching her lips move as she chewed. The perfect berry pink.

“I know you helped my friend Brian. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to know, but I do,” Raven said quietly.

Her friend had ended up in the clutches of a seriously messed-up dragon shifter, and we’d been happy to deal out a little justice. My gaze darted up for the briefest of moments, just long enough to get a look at those turquoise eyes.

“Do they know about you? What you are?” I asked.

Raven stiffened, and I knew I was treading on thin ice. Still, she answered. “Yes. I asked them to keep my secret.”

“Why?” I pressed. “Why do you hide your true nature? Having two supernatural sides is a gift.”

Tension radiated through her jaw and down her neck. “It’s complicated.”

“Raven-”

“I’m getting pretty tired. You know how healing can take it out of you. I’m going back to sleep for a bit.”

I knew when I’d been shut down. I’d give her this, her space. Time.

“I’ll never force you to talk about something you don’t want to,” I said softly as I stood. “I was only trying to understand.”

But just because I wouldn’t push didn’t mean that I wouldn’t do everything in my power to keep her safe.

Raven’s POV

Guilt swept through me, dark and heavy like oil spreading across a crystalline ocean. Forcing Nox out was like kicking a puppy. And he only made it worse by being so damn understanding.

I sighed, plucking a grape from the tray and popping it into my mouth.

The flavors of it exploded on my tongue. Even the food was better here.

As I looked around the room again, it made sense. It was clear the guys had plenty of money for the best of everything. But that did nothing to

calm my wolf.

She paced back and forth, feeling trapped being in this room. And something else had her on edge. Something that was making her snap and snarl, despite the fact that she loved being surrounded by these males’ scents.

“All right,” I muttered. “I’m looking for a way out.”

I couldn’t stay here. Not anymore. It was too risky.

Pushing to my feet, I felt a slight twinge in my side. But it was already ten times better than when I’d woken up. I knew I’d be back to 100 percent by tonight.

Scanning the room, I moved on from the picture window I’d had no luck with. This time, I went for a skinny pane I wasn’t sure would open. My gaze ran along the seam until I came to a latch. I grinned until I saw the lock. It was one of those that was supposed to have a key in it, but this one was missing.

Damn, those wolves.

They might be taking care of me, but this was still a prison.

I lifted a hand to my hair, feeling around. My rubber band had come free at some point, but I sighed in relief when I found one of the bobby

pins. Hiding things on my body that could be helpful in moments like these had become habit over the years.

Tugging the pin free, I bent it into a shape that I thought might do the trick and stretched up onto my tiptoes to place the hairpin into the lock. I maneuvered left, then right, trying to feel for the mechanisms. Just when it seemed like it might catch-

“Going somewhere?” Ezra asked, his voice raspy.

I whirled, turning to see the lot of them standing inside the bedroom, Ezra leading the way. I let out a huff of air. “Make a little noise when you

enter a room, would you? It’s rude to sneak up on someone.”

“It’s rude to sneak out of someone’s home after they saved your life,” Kael shot back.

I scoffed. “I would’ve healed on my own.”

His eyes narrowed on me. “Not if the wound got infected.”

I let out a long sigh. “Thank you for taking care of me. But I need to get going.”

Dexter moved forward, breaking free of the group. “When you say get going, why do I have a feeling you don’t just mean going back to your

apartment?”

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